Lohit stood up from his throne.
[Lohit]: Seems like I will be entertained for a while.
Pratik jumped right behind him, attempting to kick him, only to get thrown away instead.
He slid across the floor for a while before finally stopping.
As soon as he tried getting up, Lohit appeared near him and kicked him, breaking through the floor.
Both started falling deep into the heart of the castle.
After falling for a while, they reached a lesser-known part of the castle.
Pratik crashed straight into one of the abandoned pillars while Lohit landed gracefully.
[Lohit]: This was one of the places that is known only to me. I was exposed to it long ago by the previous ruler.
Lohit continued while Pratik got up and tried listening before approaching him.
[Lohit]: This place is where the Stone Prophecies are kept.
This came as a crashing surprise to Pratik.
He had some knowledge about prophecies.
Written prophecies were usually of three types.
One of them was Stone Prophecies.
These prophecies had no errors.
It was as if the future itself had been carved into stone.
None could change it.
Each habitable planet or kingdom had one.
Even Earth had a few Stone Prophecies, kept by the Immortalus Society in some secret location.
[Lohit]: Why am I telling this to you? Is what you are thinking?
Lohit said to himself.
[Lohit]: That is because this prophecy speaks of a demon... or perhaps Grey Entity would be more fitting for the description.
A Grey Entity that is destined to crash into the kingdom.
A Grey Entity that is destined to clash with the tyrant.
Shadow Lord.
Pratik seemed surprised.
This wasn't the first time someone had referred to him as Shadow Lord.
Narration: FOR CURIOUS ONES, PRATIK NAMED HIS PRIMARY RANGE SHIFTING AS SHADOW LORD JUST BECAUSE IT FELT COOL AND WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SHADOW-LIKE TECHNIQUES.
Pratik (thinking): This isn't the first time someone has referred to me as Shadow Lord. However, who is this Shadow Lord? No... A more appropriate question would be—what is Shadow Lord?
[Lohit]: However, the prophecy never speaks about the tyrant's defeat or victory. It precisely ends with the chaos that will engulf us all. But I felt something far more joyous.
This was surprising.
Something joyous?
Lohit continued.
[Lohit]: You are not a human.
This shocked Pratik.
He was not a human?
How was that possible?
He looked like a human.
He was raised on Earth even before the 1994 alien invasion.
And he even seemed to have fragments of memories with his foster mother from before the invasion.
[Pratik]: Like hell I will believe you.
That was Pratik's reaction.
As much as he opposed the idea, he did feel something strange about it.
[Lohit]: The Dark Energy Reserves inside you... they are anything but normal.
These weird Dark Energy Reserves could never belong to a human.
This silenced Pratik.
It was true...
His Dark Energy Reserves had also been called weird.
They were something difficult to understand, so no one had ever concluded anything about them.
"He is right. These Dark Energy Reserves do not belong to the human species."
A voice rang inside Pratik.
Haidoro.
He revealed it.
As Haidoro had stated earlier, Pratik's body—no, his inner consciousness—was quite favourable for Haidoro's soul to sustain itself.
This shouldn't have been possible with a human soul, which was smaller and more fragile.
If Pratik were truly human, his soul would have rejected Haidoro, either by harming itself or by killing Pratik.
This revelation was too much for Pratik.
He could barely speak.
Deep down, he kept convincing himself that they were simply trying to manipulate him.
But they weren't wrong.
And he knew it.
Silence.
Pratik finally spoke.
[Pratik]: So what if I am not a human?
Lohit gave him a surprised look.
[Pratik]: Even if it's true... I may not be a human. But I don't need to be a human to have humanity. What I need is a heart. A heart that beats for others.
Pratik said while charging his fists with his Dark Energy Reserves.
Deep inside Pratik's inner consciousness, Haidoro simply looked annoyed.
But he said nothing.
Lohit, meanwhile, smirked.
[Lohit]: Why would I care about that There was a different reason for bringing you here. As I said, you are not a human. Your soul is compatible because you are a Grey Entity. Thus, I will take over your body.
That was his plan all along.
Grey Entities were rare.
However, these entities were claimed to possess otherworldly powers.
Powers that no mortal could ever reach.
Something like a blessing...
Or perhaps a curse.
By taking over Pratik's body, Lohit would gain a body with the soul and consciousness of a Grey Entity.
And with it...
The potential of a Grey Entity.
[Pratik]: My body is mine...
Before Pratik could attack, something inside him spoke.
"You are no match for him as it is. Let me handle it."
It was Haidoro.
[Pratik]: Shut up and just give me access to my triggers, you damn lizard.
Pratik said in a comically annoyed tone.
"That I cannot do for some reason. Believe me for some time, because that's the only way for you to survive."
Pratik knew Haidoro was right to some extent.
His strategy to take down Lohit was far more risky.
[Pratik]: Fine. You shall take over for the time being.
Pratik said.
His body twisted for a moment before returning to normal.
Lohit watched it without a care.
He prepared himself to attack.
Covering his fists with Dark Energy Reserves, he lunged towards Pratik.
"What a great feeling it has."
BOOOOOOM!
Lohit was blown away like a toddler.
Congratulations.
Haidoro has taken control over Pratik's body.
To be continued...
---
EXTRAS:-
HUNTER DRAGON'S QUEST 2
In this messy crowd, the sorcerers lost track of Crocus.
They started searching for him like crazy.
Meanwhile, Crocus was sitting on a public bench, ready to eat his ice cream.
It was then that he saw a child asking a stranger for something to eat.
The child seemed to be starving.
The stranger, however, simply pushed the kid away.
Seeing this, Crocus approached the hurt kid and gave him the ice cream he had stolen.
Crocus patted the kid's head without any emotion.
The kid, meanwhile, thanked Crocus by kissing him on the cheek out of affection.
The sorcerers who had witnessed this simply felt guilty.
Guilty that even a thief had a heart greater than some of the so-called civilized people.